I thought about this long and hard whether I'm going to turn this latest 5 News Week article into the "coronavirus" edition but I wanted to showcase some other news particularly one piece of news that could cheer you guys because that's what we need right now. Without further ado, here are The 5 News Week.
What's Going On With Wrestlemania And Will The Show Be Postponed?
Even this news piece will be outdated by the time I post this because this past week was wild. All of the important entertainment conventions are either delayed or flat out cancellation but this is a wrestling site so I'm here to report on that side of things at least when it comes to WWE because that's what I'm familiar with (in other words, I'm a WWE shill).
WWE has cancelled upcoming house shows in Ohio, Toronto and even an upcoming Monday night RAW episode in Philadelphia which will be airing at the performance centre instead just like yesterday's episode of Smackdown. Fox Sports has suspended all tapings for all of their studio shows including WWE Backstage at least until next week.
And yet, the company hasn't been able to pull the plug for Wrestlemania 36 which is taking place in the same city that closed every school for 2 weeks as well as the fact that the United States has implemented a ban for all of the European nationals entering the country. The millions dollar question is, Why is that? Is it the financials?
Let's answer the last question first. I've put down a list of how much WWE made from Wrestlemania alone in recent years from 26 till 35 (excluding the PPVs buys):
- Wrestlemania 26: $5.8 million.
- Wrestlemania 27: $6.6 million.
- Wrestlemania 28: $8.9 million.
- Wrestlemania 29: $12.3 million.
- Wrestlemania 30: $10.9 million.
- Wrestlemania 31: $12.6 million.
- Wrestlemania 32: $17.3 million (the highest-grossing Wrestlemania ever).
- Wrestlemania 33: $14.5 million.
- Wrestlemania 34: $14.1 million.
- Wrestlemania 35: $16.9 million.
It could be Vince's mentality of "the show must go on" but I wouldn't be surprised if the city forces WWE to postpone the show which I don't think it will happen.
If I was Vince, I would delay the show to early May at least given that the World Health Organization called this virus as a global pandemic and I ain't taking those words lightly.
On a side note, Wrestlemania Axxess is scheduled to take place even after the cancellation of some events in the convention, the same convention that is reportedly tested positive on the coronavirus.
I wanna end this story with this, guys take care of yourselves and listen to the health experts. There's no reason for discrimination and xenophobia because the person next to you is Asian and the virus was discovered in China.
I'll embed the video below of a Ted talk about the coronavirus and I highly recommend for you to check it out.
Sam Roberts On How Montez Ford Stares At Him.
I know, this is not the best piece of journalism out there but this is hilarious. Speaking to Cultaholic via their straight to hell series on YouTube, the SiriusXM radio host mentioned how Montez Ford stared at him which is funny given that Sam Roberts had some criticisms regarding Bianca Belair last year in the NXT: Takeover Phoenix pre-show:
"Well Montez Ford, every single time he sees me in a hallway, just stares me down. Just staring holes through my body and I try to just keep walking."
When I heard him say, "staring holes through my body", I laughed my ass off. I'll bet that Montez Ford looked at Sam Roberts so dead in the eyes that Ford could see Sam's organs and bones like he's superman or something. Shout out to Cultaholic and Sam Roberts for that story.
Jazzy Gabert On Her Life After WWE And Starting A New Wrestling Promotion.
Jazzy Gabert, in my opinion, was one of the highlights in the inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament and was happy to hear that she was signed with WWE under the NXT UK brand.
I don't watch NXT UK just because I watch 11 hours of pro wrestling per week alone and I ain't got time to add another hour of programming so can't speak on her run there.
She recently spoke with Fightful contributor, Kristan Ashly about how tough it was to leave WWE to instead pursue wrestling on the indie scene:
"It was a decision that had many reasons," the Alpha Female stated. "It was not simple, not because of one thing that wasn't right, it was several issues that had to be solved, and I didn't see any other option than walking away from what I once wanted so badly."
Gabert continued, "It wasn't an easy decision, I had to think [a] long time about it. But after talking to the official and hearing that absolutely nothing would change if I let [them] renew my contract, it was just not worth it."
She then later talked about starting her new promotion called Sirius Sports Entertainment and where did that idea come from:
"I'm [setting up in] a theatre, the ring will be up the stage. There will be a group of dancers who upgrade the whole wrestling experience. There is a singer and the entrances going to be extra special. I have the best athletes from all over Europe. I'm very excited to show the world my personal idea of a wrestling show."
"I always had the idea, and the local people asked me all the time when there is a show around so they can watch me. So, after my contract expired in January, and I'm not on tour [until] May, I thought I have some time to actually do it. So now I'm doing it."
It's a good read so I highly recommend you check it out.
Triple H Getting A "Demotion"?
Yes, his new position as the Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development is actually a demotion if you believe what Dave Meltzer said in the recent Observer Newsletter which Triple H actually joked about it as a colour commentator on Smackdown yesterday (which he was absolutely gold in, by the way). So, pretty much he's not recruiting talent, unlike his recent position. That position is given to WWE's Chief of Staff Brad Blum.
Goldberg Scheduled For Next Week's Episode Of Smackdown.
Speaking of Smackdown, the young champion Goldberg (sarcasm of course) will appear on next week's episode of Smackdown in a contract signing with Roman Reigns assuming that it airs in the performance centre. I finally got to watch Smackdown before writing this and it was a good episode.
The aforementioned Triple H was great on commentary as well as that Bray Wyatt and John Cena segment (Bray is really the best actor in the entire WWE. Somebody give this man some movie gig). They did air the full Elimination Chamber match for the Smackdown tag titles which was a lame way to fill time but again, a good show from the blue brand.
What do you think about the news I just reported and follow me on the tweets @omartheplayaguy. Anyways, stay safe smarks.
Additional sources: https://www.wwe.com/shows/smackdown/article/roman-reigns-goldberg-contract-signing
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